When Mitch Albom--syndicated Detroit Free Press sportscolumnist, radio host and ESPN The Sports Reporterspanelist--set about writing Tuesdays with Morrie in 1995, hehoped only that sales would defray medical expenses of hisbeloved Brandeis sociology professor, Morrie Schwartz, who wasdying of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Instead it became1998's top-selling nonfiction book. A Dec. 4 TV version was No.1 in the ratings.

Albom: True story. The oldies band I was in opens for him atRutgers in 1976. I play piano. We finish our set. He's about togo on and says, "I need you guys to play the Welcome Back,Kotter theme as my intro." We go back onstage. The audiencethinks we're doing an encore. That night I learned what fourthousand boos sound like.

SI: What's the best part of having written the book?

Albom: Last week I attended two fund-raisers that raised$150,000 for ALS. It reminds me of what Morrie says in the book:"Teachers affect eternity because they never know where theirinfluence will stop."

Before he became the premier postseason performer of his generation, the Patriots icon was a middling college quarterback who invited skepticism, even scorn, from fans and his coaches. That was all—and that was everything